Aly Taha spent fifteen years in the energy sector, at times overseeing capital decisions worth up to ten billion dollars across multiple geographies, before stepping away to pursue entrepreneurship through acquisition. Now managing partner of Memphis Capital, he is using the search fund model, common in the US and Europe but rare in the Middle East, to acquire and personally run a single healthy, cash flow positive Egyptian small or medium enterprise for the long term. Speaking from Cairo, Taha explains why Egypt's family owned businesses, many started in the 1970s and 80s, offer strong growth potential despite gaps in professional management. He discusses how his civil engineering degree, Dutch project management masters, and London Business School MBA shaped his analytical and leadership approach, why he prefers concentrated, hands on ownership over a diversified portfolio, how he reassures sellers that he is not a short term private equity buyer, and how currency devaluation risk is managed through dollar denominated, geographically diversified revenue. He closes on what foreign investors misunderstand about Egyptian SMEs and what would help capital reach them at scale.
A former $10 billion energy executive explains why he is walking away from portfolios to buy and run one Egyptian business.
You had 15 years in energy and were responsible for up to $10 billion. What made you leave that to buy one company?
It was mostly an entrepreneurial itch I never lost. Even while employed at one of the biggest energy companies in the world, I had high autonomy, proposing new investments, running turnarounds, and growing businesses through decision gates. Eventually I wanted to do the same thing but for myself, with even more autonomy, and possibly outside the energy sector entirely.
When did that entrepreneurial view become a clear plan for you?
It became a clear plan during my MBA at London Business School. A classmate was running exactly this search fund model in Europe, and it caught my interest. I loved my job, but felt that growing further inside the company would mean losing the autonomy I had. This model brought together an existing, tangible business with the entrepreneurial freedom I was looking for.
Why Egypt, and why now?
Egypt is a growing, emerging market that has gone through cycles of challenges but is showing positive trends from government reforms. Compared to the UK and Netherlands, which are developed and competitive, Egypt has SMEs that are highly profitable and growing year on year but lack basic management skills, like sales teams, simply because local demand is high and labor is cheap and educated.
Most investors build diversified portfolios, but you're buying one business. Why is concentration the right call for you?
It's mainly for focus and hands on management. I believe in diversification personally across asset classes, but I love this model because you're literally on the steering wheel, taking the business in the growth direction yourself. It's not for a passive investor. My cap table partners either did this model themselves or have industrial backgrounds to coach and monitor afterward.
You talk about preserving the seller's legacy. What does someone selling their life's work need to hear to let go?
Owners always ask what happens to their team, some of whom they've worked with for twenty or thirty years. My message is that I'm not typical private equity looking for a short term gain who cuts costs and reduces headcount. This is a long term investment, we plan to hold and manage the business for five to seven years, and growth means adding to the business, not shrinking it.
Egypt has been through serious currency devaluation. How do you protect value in a business you intend to hold for years?
The specific company I'm working on has all its contracts in US dollars, with only 30 to 40 percent of revenue from Egypt and the rest diversified across other markets, plus consistent 20 percent plus year over year growth. More broadly, I believe the government has learned from past devaluations and now has a strong team managing currency more like a stable European economy than sharp highs and lows.
What do foreign investors most often get wrong about Egyptian SMEs?
Many investors simply aren't familiar with the Egyptian market and carry stereotypes whenever Egypt appears in the news for a revolution or regional turmoil. But foreign investment here goes back to the 1970s, my own grandfather started a business then backed by American investors, and waves of French, Dutch, and Swedish investors have since tapped into highly educated, low cost local talent.
If SMEs really are the backbone of the economy, what has to change for capital to actually reach them?
Mostly visibility. There's no active, updated database where an investor can filter SMEs by size, industry, ownership, or performance. I've met many business owners who want to sell but don't know how to access investors. Improving that visibility, through governments, chambers of commerce, investors, and owners working together, would meaningfully help capital find and support these businesses.
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